However, Manchester United inserted a first-option buy-back clause in the £9.8m deal that saw Januzaj move to Spain, meaning they must first declare a refusal to trigger that clause before Sociedad can consider any offers from a third party, according to Belgian news outlet HLN.

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Puel is keen to bring in a winger to replace Riyad Mahrez who left the Foxes to sign for Manchester City in a deal worth £60m earlier this summer.

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The 23-year-old broke through at Old Trafford as a teenager under David Moyes’ management, scoring twice on his debut to announce himself as ‘the next big thing’ before his career went off the rails following the arrival of Louis van Gaal and later Jose Mourinho.

He found his feet again in La Liga, so much so that he was re-called into the Belgium squad which reached the semi-finals of the World Cup this summer.

Another caveat in the situation regards Manchester United’s reported interest in Leciester defender Harry Maguire. While there is no suggestion yet they will do so – United could use their leverage over Januzaj to strong arm Leicester in potential negotiations over Maguire.